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Northwest Custom Apparel & Embroidery since 1977BlogUncategorized
Erik Mickelson Blog, Uncategorized

Corporate Webstores and Fundraising

Milton Police Fundraiser

 
Hero of Twisp Fundraising Shirt
T-Shirt Stack Heroes of Twisp

How to Create A Successful Online Fundraising Program

With limited funding and tight budgets, many schools, organizations and nonprofits are desperate for innovative and simple ways to raise money. Selling customized, printed goods in an effort to fundraise isn’t new and novel; however, selling these same customized goods in an online, fundraiser-store format is innovative and has a very profitable and exciting future.

 

What's in It For Me? Understanding the Benefits

  • No Cost, no liability: No inventory or commitments.
  • Fast: An online fundraiser can be created and launched in minutes. The online store can be shared rapidly via email blasts and social media promotion
  • No Inventory: The client doesn’t have to stock, distribute and worry about dated or unsold merchandise. 
  • Physical Products: So many fundraising campaigns seek money and contributions with nothing tangible in return for the donor. With printed goods as the fundraising vehicle, the donor receives a tangible item for their contribution, thusly increasing the likelihood of soliciting more contributions. 

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Digital to garment printing is superior to screen printing

Digital to Garment is superior

Digital to Garment printing is superior to screen printing on apparel. This is a bold statement but it is true. Have you ever been in a screen printing shop and seen the dirt and filth. Now fast forward and visit a DTG shop. No mess or filth anywhere

Review of the facts

Let’s review a few facts about screen printing vs digital to garment printing.

Set up

Set up. The set up for DTG is as simple as point, click and print. Screen printing entails a separate screen for each color in the design. A 6 color print would take six separate screens for each color plus the white under base. This process will take at least 2 hours. DTG is scan design into computer and transfer to printer. Total set up less than 15 minutes.

Cleanup

Once the screens are used it is clean up time. This is another hour of labor. There is no clean up with DTG. Very efficient.

Environmentally friendly

DTG uses inks which are water based and environmentally friendly. They meet all the requirements of the consumer protection laws. Screen printing uses plastisol inks which do contain carcinogenic materials. These materials have been know to cause cancer if breathed in for any period of time. Water based inks produce a soft hand and smooth finish. Women lover apparel printed using the DTG method with water based ink. There is no stiffness in the fabric as water based ink is absorbed by the fabric and not painted on.
Re orders are a big problem with screen printing. For example a customer wants a 6 piece fill in order which has six colors. The time to do this is at least 2 hours. If you do it with the DTG method it takes about 6 minutes. Again no mess to cleanup.

Samples

Doing samples with DTG is far superior to screen printing. Can you imagine the problems when you are trying to introduce a new line of decorated apparel. With DTG is goes from the artists drawing board direct to the garment. Slam dunk. A sample run with DTG can be done in a day. A sample run using screen printing can take days or more.
These are a few arguments supporting DTG printing. There are more which will be in future blogs.

Same Day Printed Shirts, Uncategorized

Digital Garment Printing is superior

There is a difference between DTG printing and Screen Printing

The most important difference is that DTG printing uses water based inks which are safe for the environment. The process does not use harmful chemicals.  Screen printing inks contain carcinogenic compounds which can be harmful to a person and have been known to cause cancer. Most important is that the government regulations prohibit the use of screen print inks in youth wearing apparel.

DTG is a new process

The DTG printing involves a completely new process which is faster and more efficient than the silk screen method. Silk Screen printing is limited by the number of colors used in the design. DTG printing will allow you to have an infinite pallet of colors in a design. Setting up a DTG order is as simple has transferring the design from a computer to the printer and pushing a button. Silk screen set up involves making a screen for each color in the design. This limits the amount of colors in the design to around 12.

Color limitations

Because of color limitations screen printing is limited to designs which do not require a lot of colors. This makes small orders very expensive when so many screens are involved. This same cost has to be repeated with every re-order. Digital Printing has a one time set up charge which is never repeated. Repeat orders can be as small as one piece.

There is a difference between DTG printing and Screen Printing28765 Puget Sound Enduro

The most important difference is that DTG printing uses water based inks which are safe for the environment. The process does not use harmful chemicals.  Screen printing inks contain carcinogenic compounds which can be harmful to a person and have been known to cause cancer. Most important is that the government regulations prohibit the use of screen print inks in youth wearing apparel.

The DTG printing involves a completely new process which is faster and more efficient than the silk screen method. Silk Screen printing is limited by the number of colors used in the design. DTG printing will allow you to have an infinite pallet of colors in a design. Setting up a DTG order is as simple has transferring the design from a computer to the printer and pushing a button. Silk screen set up involves making a screen for each color in the design. This limits the amount of colors in the design to around 12.

Color Limitations

Because of color limitations screen printing is limited to designs which do not require a lot of colors. This makes small orders very expensive when so many screens are involved. This same cost has to be repeated with every re-order. Digital Printing has a one time set up charge which is never repeated. Repeat orders can be as small as one piece.

If a order is to be repeated continually with small piece requirements digital is the way to go to save money and eliminate costly set up charges.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vby9KYPDIgI

Small run multi-color designs are the bread and butter of Digital Printing. It is more efficient than silk screening and involves a lot less labor.

Delivery

Delivery is much faster than silk screen orders. At Northwest Custom Apparel it is possible to received a order at 10am and deliver by 5 pm the same day.

So if a customer wants short runs, quick turn around and the ability to get fast re-orders digital is the way to go.

 

have you heard-

Repeat orders

If a order is to be repeated continually with small piece requirements digital is the way to go to save money and eliminate costly set up charges.

Small runs

Small run multi-color designs are the bread and butter of Digital Printing. It is more efficient than silk screening and involves a lot less labor.

Delivery

Delivery is much faster than silk screen orders. At Northwest Custom Apparel it is possible to received a order at 10 am and deliver by 5 pm the same day.

So if a customer wants short runs, quick turn around and the ability to get fast re-orders digital is the way to go.

 

 

Blog, Uncategorized

Digital Garment Printing has arrived

Same day Tees with DTG

What is DTG all about? DTG or direct to garment printing is the newest form of decorating for apparel. This has created a rush to market by the traditional copy machine manufacturers.

The problem created is that companies who are traditionally copy machine manufacturers are trying to enter into this market. Their objective is to convert a copy machine into a printer which can print on garments. Tee shirts are the most popular item to print on. Northwest Custom Apparel can print and deliver in one day.

Major Problems

The major problem with these machines is that they are originally designed to make copies on paper. Paper printing and apparel printed are not the same. In attempt to gain market share these manufacturers are attempting to come up with something which is price competitive.

The sales pitch is that the machine is affordable. Being affordable and practical are not compatible.. The price may look great but the production of 6 shirts an hour will not work. This is the bottom of the ladder when choosing digital printers. Do not buy one unless you can afford one which will allow you to be productive.

One thing to consider when buying the low priced machines is the actual steps it takes to print a tee shirt. Also consider that the low priced machines will not print on dark material. They are designed to print on white tees only.

The process is as follows:

  1. Spray the shirt with pre-treatment
  2. Set the pre-treatment using a clam shell heat press
  3. Print the garment on a DTG printer which takes about 10 minutes to print a tee shirt
  4. Finally heat press the tee shirt again to set the ink
  5. Fold, pack and ship.

The whole process is crazy and not worth the investment. This process makes your business a hobby. It is not a commercial process.

Northwest Custom Apparel is different

None of the above applies to Northwest Custom Apparel who uses the most state of the art machines which are designed and built to print on apparel. Not one piece of paper will ever go on our machines.

Northwest Custom can print on dark material at a speed of 30 full front tees an hour. Small left chest can average 100 units per hour. This makes our prices very competitive. We offer as many colors as required with no extra charge. The price includes as many colors as need in the design.28704 Kalles Junior High FP

This short blog is to explain why Northwest Custom Apparel  purchases and uses quality equipment in their manufacturing process.

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Sales team grows 40%

Our sales team is 40% more productive.

What follows are a few questions which should be addressed by members of your sales department. The objective is to make them more productive. We at Deco Source in Tacoma ask ourselves these questions after making the dreaded cold call.

  • How much does the rep listen during a sales presentation? One problem is that sales people have a tendency to talk too much when visiting a customer. You have to let the customer talk and share their problems with you. It makes more sense to be a problem solver.
  • Once you hear the customer you should adjust your message to fit his or her needs. Customers have a tendency to reach out to sales people if given the opportunity. The key here is to listen and then solve the problem.
  • One technique I like in a sales presentation is the open ended question. Don’t ever ask a yes or no question during a sales call. An open ended question like “what features do you like about this product?” starts a sales discussion.
  • Have you brought the customer to the point of asking questions and trying to get you to help him or her? This is a crucial point in the sales discussion to turn the conversation in your favor. When the customer identifies the problem you are on your way to making a sale. Now you are helping and not selling.
  • The next key point to have is actual solutions to your customer’s problem. Customers like sales people who will actually help them. It makes their job so much easier. It will eventually elicit such loyalty from your customer. The invitations to come back will be more frequent. This means no more cold calls when you have created a raving fan for a customer.
  • The main technique to always remember is to debrief after a sales call. You should review what was discussed and how well you interacted with your prospect. The key is to practice and you will get so much better with time.Torsten

Remember without sales nothing happens. Decosource is located in Milton next to Tacoma, Washington

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Kalles basketball website

Website sale of basketball uniforms a success.

Have you ever been the group leader who is in charge of the apparel order for the team? Trust me I have and it is a real pain in the but. Trying to get everyone’s order together, trying to collect the money, determining the style and color, and hoping the check don’t bounce. These are a few things which make group sales a nightmare. Usually the group leader is overwhelmed.

Northwest Custom Apparel offers a simple solution to solve the group sales problem. We have named it “Flash Store.” Simply put this is a store on the internet where you can come in and browse. After browsing you can pick your product, enter your credit card payment and end up one happy camper.

This is how is works. Northwest Custom Apparel is located in Seattle/Tacoma area and services the whole Northwest side of Washington State. The first thing which happens is that someone from a group who is going to spruce up their image and get some apparel which will pull the group together.28759

A rep from Northwest Apparel will work with the group leader to develop the group logo so it can be put on the selected apparel. There are requirements for he size of the logo. Left chest embroidery should be 3.5 inches or less. Full back embroidery is generally 10 inches wide. DTG printing is 12 inches square. These are the shirts we did for Kalles Jr High.

For embroidery we generally recommend that you stick to 6 colors or less to keep the costs down. DTG printing you can have as many colors as you want.

The next step is to pick out the apparel you want the group to have. After picking the apparel Northwest will make a sample with your logo. A sample is always something we offer to ensure no mistakes.

Last step is to allow Northwest to set up the website. You should have at least a two week buying window for the members.

Buying window closed

When the buying window is closed Northwest will complete the order and deliver ready to distribute. Group leaders love this because all they have to do is present the items, select the close out date and wait for it to happer.

 

02 Mar, 2017 No Comments
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How t-shirts are printed in less than 8 Hours

Fife Junior Football Volunteers FP 2Where can I get one or same day tee shirt printing? This is a question which is more common than naught. Consumers want instant gratification. This really puts a strain on the imprinted sportswear industry. Most companies doing apparel printing cannot offer same day or rush printing.

There is actually a viable answer to this question. The answer is direct to garment printing. This is also referred to as DTG printing. Check out the quality of this printing. These shirts were designed and printed in less than 8 hours.

The whole process is actually revolutionary.  Printing tee shirts is rapidly is becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Northwest Custom Apparel specializes in one day printing. The service they offer is in by 10AM delivery at 5 PM.

Customized apparel is becoming more in demand rather that a name on a tee shirt printed in one color. This arcane method actually started during world war II with the GI’s whose laundry was done in massive batches. This created a problem if the shirts were not marked correctly.

Now artists are less constrained with DTG printing because they can create designs using a full pallet of colors. Designs are now done on a computer rather than creating stencils/screens for each color in the design. It is fast what used to take several hours is now reduced to the time it takes to scan a design and send to the Kornit printer. Northwest uses Kornit technology because it is the best in the world.19947 19948 Harley Ride for Autism FP

We often get asked “can you print on darks?” Our response is that this is what separates us from the competition. In the Northwest there is only one company who has the Kornit printers. Than company is Northwest Custom Apparel or Decosource. These printers will allow Northwest Custom Apparel to create some real master pieces.

Friends of Russell are a Harley ride for autisum. It is a major fund raiser.

Another question is how will the ink hold up. We printed tees in 2012 and they are still being worn. A shirt done on the Kornit printer will last at least 5 years.

In summary one day printing has arrived and Northwest Custom Apparel can deliver it.

 

DTG Printing, Uncategorized

Amazon same day tee printing

Is it DTG or Amazon Printing

Amazon the world’s largest and best retailer has taken a gigantic step into the direct to garment apparel printing business. This is also referred to as on demand printing. This move validates Amazon’s goal of entering  “just in time delivery” for apparel products.

Amazon goes first class

Amazon has decided to go first class and purchase the Kornit
printers. These are the best printers for on demand printing in the world. Amazon has made a bold move.

They have not only decided to purchase Kornit printers they are looking at an investment in the company. Kornit which is the manufacturer of the world’s best digital printers has agreed to sell to Amazon  warrants to purchase 2.3 million shares of stock of Kornit in the future.

David Hanson is a Kornit Printer Operator at NW Custom Apparel
David Hanson is a Kornit Printer Operator at NW Custom Apparel

A sound business move

This is a interesting move by Amazon because they have truly identified the “on demand printing market” for custom apparel. This will allow anyone who is creative to create their own apparel line by working with Amazon. The tedious process of bringing their design to a screen printer to develop is going to be history. Amazon has the ability to print as little as one piece. Everyone can become a designer working with Amazon.

Anyone can now enter the decorated apparel business if they have access to a computer and the internet. The process is very simple if you are a designer. All you have to do is design a graphic send it to Amazon digital and in 3 days you will received your printed tee shirt. The time and cost savings is going to be unreal.

Last year US apparel sales were over $90 billion. This market is wide open for Amazon.

Two digital printers

Northwest Custom Apparel located in Milton fortunately has two digital printers similar to Amazons. We can offer same day printing for clients in the Northwest. We appreciate the fact that Amazon is entering this market and developing the DTG brand or  “Amazon on Demand”.

Northwest Custom Apparel has the ability to go step in step with Amazon except we are a little shy on expansion capital. This is why we want to offer same day printing only to customers in the Pacific Northwest. We want to make same day printing in Seattle our goal. To go nationwide like Amazon would kill us. All we want to do is ride their coat tails.

We thank Amazon for jumping into the same day printing market. Trying to sell DTG printing vs screen printing tees is now a reality for us.